Science grants open doors

Five Adams students able to pursue research.

Five Adams students able to pursue research.

February 17, 2009|By GENE STOWE Tribune Correspondent

SOUTH BEND -- Five Adams High School students are pursuing their research this semester with grants from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The grants helped buy materials for experiments in energy, the environment and health.

The five are among some 20 students involved in sophisticated research at Adams, a longstanding tradition, says teacher Nevin Longenecker, who has been at the school for 40 years and involved in the program for 30.

Over the years, students have won $1 million in awards from various funding sources, and many have presented their work at professional meetings and their freshman college science classes.

Â?As always, these students take these on with them to college,Â? Longenecker says, pointing out old photographs of former students who have become Ph.D.s, medical doctors, researchers and science writers.

The courseÂ?s first semester involves studying approaches to research, how to use instruments and how to design investigations; reading at least nine journal articles on a topic; and writing six- to eight-page proposals for research projects. Second semester involves conducting the research and writing 20- to 25-page reports including data and statistical analysis.

Researchers in the group include Alexander Liby, Thomas Hauch, Freida Fein, Brandon Waggy, Joshua Courtney, Louay Masri, Nathan Grantz, Luke Sernau, John Hsieh and Carl Zaderej. Another five students are preparing to conduct research.

Grant winners this year are:

Sophomore David Kern, who is developing prototype models to increase the effectiveness of using wind energy to provide electrical power. HeÂ?s testing how much energy is extracted by a single turbine in the schoolÂ?s wind tunnel.

Â?Alternative energy is the hot topic in research right now,Â? David says. Â?IÂ?ve always been a lot more interested in earth science and that type of stuff.Â?

He has a hypothesis that fans in urban areas could use the energy from wind channeled down city blocks to power the buildings where they are. Large wind farms capture energy from wind sweeping across the landscape, but much is lost in the long transmissions required from the remote areas.

Sophomore Marijke Wijnen is doing research on improving the efficiency of the natural bioremediation process in xylene-contaminated soil. Naturally occurring microbes consume the contaminant, but they can take years.

Â?I wanted to do something with the environment,Â? Marijke says. Â?What IÂ?m testing is what can help get it done in a reasonable amount of time.Â?

Different tubes of commercial topsoil and water have xylene; xylene with phosphate and nitrate added to help support the microbes; or with an oxygen tube to help support the microbes. SheÂ?ll test to see which becomes less toxic.

Junior Jay Carmichael is measuring the antioxidant potential of flavonoids and other compounds. Antioxidants are a hot topic in nutrition, with widely perceived health benefits.

HeÂ?s using a spectrophotometer to measure the potential of such antioxidants as flavonoids and vitamin C as well as testing their effectiveness over time. ItÂ?s sort of a follow-up to his experiment last year that tested the effects of flavonoids on the cognitive faculties of mice.

Â?They did affect it quite a bit,Â? Jay says. Mice that received flavonoids, in either a normal or double dosage, did significantly better on tests such as turning around in an alley than mice that received no flavonoids.

Junior Jeffrey Martin is looking for experimental validation of an equation for carbon dioxide venting efficiency for a direct methanol fuel cell.

Â?The concept is really filtering,Â? he says, explaining that a membrane for the cell is designed to draw carbon dioxide out while keeping water from escaping.

Senior Andrew Norris is examining factors to increase energy output for aluminum/air batteries. HeÂ?s testing different types and sizes of aluminum to find an optimal output.

Â?Everyone seems big on fuel cells,Â? Andrew says, but little recent research has been done on aluminum. Â?ItÂ?s abundant and recycled all the time. The goal is use for a vehicle, like a battery. To power a car, youÂ?d need hundreds of these.Â?